THE area known as Llanos de Líbar lies between the municipalities of Montejaque, Benaoján and Cortes de la Frontera and is one of the most isolated areas of Andalucía. It is a high plain with an altitude of more than 1000 metres above sea level.

This vast area gave its name to the Cortijo de Líbar which sits almost equidistant from Montejaque and Cortes de la Frontera and a place where visitors can take some respite from the vastness and inhospitable appearance of the landscape.

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[Llanos de Libar article - Sur in English - 27 November 2009]

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THERE are lemons on the line, but that’s not a problem. It would take more than a few fallen fruits to delay the 7.15am from Granada to Algeciras.

Speeding through the Spanish countryside, its driver mindful of a refund pledge if it runs late, it is on track to carry us from the mountain hamlet of Benaojan Estacion to the village of Jimera de Libar, seven minutes away.

A first impression of the City of Dreams by Paul Whitelock.

AS we turned the corner between two huge rocks, we glimpsed Ronda shimmering in the distance, white and bright atop its huge cliff. Moments later it disappeared from view, but then there it was again in all its glory as we drew nearer to our destination.

Paul Whitelock, a sometime resident of the Barrio San Francisco, explains why this corner of Ronda is among the best in town.

THE Barrio San Francisco, which nestles just outside the city walls at the southern end of Ronda's old town, is a delightful working quarter of narrow streets and cobbled alleyways, populated mainly by local people. In recent years, however, the charms of this up-and-coming area of the Ciudad Soñada, City of Dreams, have enticed a small number of foreigners to buy a house or an apartment here. Currently, there are a German, two American ladies, an Irishwoman and about a dozen Brits who own properties in this peaceful and open area and who work locally at various enterprises or who have simply had the good fortune to be able to retire from the rat-race of their respective countries.

WHAT could be better than an eco-friendly train ride and a healthy walk back through a protected landscape, followed by a meal made from organically grown produce?

Paul Whitelock describes two options for a green day out - one recently taken by UK Conservative leader David Cameron - in the beautiful Guadiaro Valley...

THERE are times when - half-way up a mountain in the middle of remotest Andalucia - I feel as though I'm back at school, playing hooky on a field trip. We are on an independent walking holiday, which means it is just the two of us, a compass (which we're not altogether sure how to use), a set of directions and seven varieties of blister plaster. No teachers telling us what to do. In fact, no one to monitor our progress at all, apart from the occasional farmer, his face invariably lined with wrinkles as deep as the grooves on a toast rack.